STEAM rather than STEM
My grumble today! The Arts Party of Australia has a great suggestion - that in innovative, integrative education, STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) needs to become STEAM to include the arts. If anyone cares to look, practising artists, in all fields, work integratively with those STEM areas, so why is the 'A' losing traction in schools? Are we heading towards a Terminator society where mechanistic thinking rules? The arts (including humanities) speak to thoughtfulness about our place in the wider world and the implications of our actions, past, present and future. That's important! The 'A' areas are not lesser, soft options, lacking rigour and discipline. The thinking involved is creative and imaginative and this is vital for innovation in all fields, but is learned through thoughtful creative activity explored most intensely and openly in ... yes, the arts.